Ryo For Your Thoughts
by ClassHole
Summary: [Lee] Completing that jutsu did not give him the sense of accomplishment he was so desperately striving for.


Read.

* * *

"I did it..._"_

He hadn't actually expected his chakra to expel through the tips of his fingers. He hadn't actually expected to form the hand seals, for the first time, accurately and with an amazing speed that only people such as himself could retain. He hadn't actually expected a replica of himself to emerge from the cloud of billowing smoke. He hadn't actually expected it to move, maintain his speed, and copy him to the slightly curve of his bushy eyebrow.

He hadn't expected it to _work._

Now he stood there, alone, in the middle of the training grounds, panting like a dog with a clone of himself replicating his every action. It was such a surprise that a sudden state of rigor mortis took over Lee and he was rendered immobile for a few seconds. Even if his life had been threatened at that precise moment, nothing would have been able to bring him back to the reality that stood before him.

He watched with eyes full of bewilderment as the clone circled him several times. It inspected his green suit and checked the gloss of his hair.

"It only took you seventeen years,_" _the clone whined, clearly appalled by Lee's reaction. He had not moved ever since the smoke was carried off by the wind. As of yet, Lee had not even so much as blinked in the clone's presence.

The clone's brow twitched in agitation and it circled Lee again, as though some new speck of invisible dirt would arise on his clothing because Lee had labeled himself an inanimate object.

When the clone found nothing of importance on Lee's suit, it stood back in front of the man. They stared at each other for a few moments before Lee decided to move again.

In one fluid, quick motion, Lee's fist slammed into the clone's face and it was sent flying backwards before it disappeared in another signature cloud of smoke.

Lee heard the distinctive pants of one nearby. His head tossed back and forth, his eyes glancing for any sign of this new person. After a moment he realized that the heavy breathing was his own, and that's when the wave of paranoia set in.

He immediately dropped to the grass in fear that he may vomit since swirling tendrils of nausea curled up his throat. He let his back slowly crush the blades of grass and, once his task was completed, sprawled himself like a star in the backdrop of the green universe and the brownish specks of planets and celestial objects.

The breathing that was once ragged slowly began to ease, but that was nothing in contrast to his heart. It beat so quickly that he was unable to count each lub and dub--although his inability to count his own heartbeat was mainly because the claws of surprise snatched away all comprehensible thought.

It was scary.

For all of his life, he was known as the boy who could not do any ninjutsu or genjutsu. He was shunned by his classmates and made fun of. It had gotten so bad that his mother tried to enroll him in a school for special shinobi children. Even they did not accept him; clearly explaining why such a child would have no use as one of Konoha's shinobi.

He had believed every word that tumbled off their lips. From the monosyllabic obscenities to the laughter at his expense, Lee had endured what most children at his age should never have had to go through. He was teased for his inabilities and his weaknesses-- as others labeled it.

He was an inconvenience to everyone. He figured that being a shinobi required a talent for using one's chakra pathways to nurture and develop techniques of a ninjutsu and genjutsu nature. Without the ability to even open the pathways of his own will, there was really no chance in him achieving higher than the mockery genin rank.

He wanted to prove them wrong. For days at a time, he perfected his hand seals and learned, from his mother, how chakra worked. From the veins to how its speed affected its discharge and trajectory, Lee absorbed more information than male and female shinobi alike obtained in their lifetimes. Unfortunately, all his effort was in vain when he realized that a plethora of common knowledge would do him no good in completing a jutsu.

In all actuality, completing a jutsu of any caliber was unattainable at his level. His thirst for acceptance grew as the days and his attempts at any sort of ninjutsu grew weary and tiring. All of his effort was wasted; there was simply no way he could do one.

That moment in his life was a changing point. A point where, despite what others thought of him, he would become a shinobi. If not by ninjutsu or genjutsu, he would accomplish what no others could be simply mastering taijutsu. As outrageous as it sounded, he would go about this task with raw willpower and determination. He promised that he would combat his foes--the people who believed that he was unable to achieve more than a mere child--and he would be able to do it with the flick of a wrist, not the discharge of immense amounts of chakra to create a technique.

No one could stop him from reaching such a goal and, in what seemed like no time at all, Lee was known as Konoha's Green Beast. His suit was the partial blame but, as he so coyly put it, one could not be called a beast without having the beast within. It was not in a Naruto way that he held his own inner beast, but more of a feeling that coiled in the pit of his stomach, demanding that he strive for what no other has done before.

But now, things were different.

He created a clone.

He completed a jutsu.

He used chakra in a form other than opening a gate.

It was akin to being back in the academy.

Lee looked at his fingers with a profound mortification and excitement. As though the digits heard his cry of help, they began to shake. One could tell that, by their raisin appearance, they were not accustomed to having such a new power surge through them.

As Lee felt his body calm, he started to realize the true meaning behind what he had done. It wasn't that he was now able to do it. It wasn't that he could now be known as a regular Konoha shinobi. It was none of those things.

What rattled him the bone and unlocked his deepest fear was this: _He kept trying. _

Even though he promised everyone that he would become taijutsu master, he kept trying ninjutsu. Although no one had really noticed, he kept attempting to do what others thought he couldn't. He kept changing himself...for them. Now, Konoha's Green Beast could also be called Konoha's Green Hypocrite. Even he was able to accept such a condescending term for himself. He deserved to be called that.

Completing that jutsu did not give him the sense of accomplishment he was so desperately striving for.

Now, as Lee walked out the gates and onto the street, his mind was blank. He had nothing to think about and no goals to set, meet and surpass. No five thousand two finger push ups, two thousands laps around Konoha, or fighting for hours with his sensei would stop the lump of defeat forming in his throat. Lee was defeated by his own selfish goal.

Yes, he believed it was selfish...only because he let others down for the sake of an acceptance that wasn't even there anymore. He continued to look for the best within himself although the best was right there all along. Really, reaching his goal was nothing like how he imagined it.

Lee lifted up the Ichiraku covers and smiled when he saw the orange head of hair in front of his view. He tapped the boy on the shoulder and took a seat beside him. Slurping rather disgustingly and placing his chopsticks into his bowl, Naruto turned his head and greeted Lee with a curt nod.

They sat there in silence for a few moments until Teuchi brought Naruto another bowl. Lee could not tell how many bowls Naruto had before that. But, by the looks of it, it must have been many. This guess was based on Naruto's pants, currently unbuckled with his jacket on the stool opposite of the two customers.

He smiled and asked Ayame for a bowl himself, pointing to Naruto's when the young woman asked him what type he would like. Naruto's next bowl came before his; something to be expected when you were sitting beside the fastest ramen eater in all of Konoha.

"You really like ramen..._"_ Lee whispered, picking up his chopsticks. Naruto looked over to the boy in slight surprise and merely nodded, his mouth still quite occupied. Briefly wondering if he had actually asked a question, Lee turned to his food and slowly dipped his chopsticks into the soup. He swirled the contents around for a few seconds. When he felt eyes on him, Lee turned his head to see Tenten smiling behind him.

He smiled at her weakly and she took a seat beside him, ordering some water.

"How are you?_"_ He asked, his hand sagging lower into the bowl of ramen. When Tenten did not immediately respond, he cocked his head to the side to notice that she was staring at his fingers. When he realized that they were in the same state as when he had used them to complete the technique, Lee slowly pushed his arm back between his body and Naruto's.

"Lee?_"_ Her voice was laced with worry and Lee couldn't help but feel bad for _wanting_ to omit his new accomplishment from the budding conversation.

"Hm?_"_ He responded, temporarily forgetting that they were in a public place.

"Ryō for your thoughts._"_

Lee's attention was brought to the gold coin that clattered onto the counter. It continued to shake and create a disturbance, much to his annoyance. The hand that was nicely concealed behind his body came out and slammed the coin onto the counter. He then saw Tenten smirk as she reached for his hand, grabbing it and pulling it towards her.

He blushed when she began to caress each digit, running her smooth fingers over his in a very slow motion. Her skin ran over the fingers that expelled the chakra and he watched with amazement as she began to rub gently. The pain from before began to dissipate and the skin began to smooth out, regaining its taijutsu-caused rough texture.

She stopped suddenly and stared at Lee, a look of understanding passing through her eyes. Lee swallowed audibly, feeling highly uncomfortable with the situation. He wanted to escape now and, as she started to pull back, he got up. Placing his money on the counter next to his untouched bowl, Lee nodded to Naruto and left. Tenten watched as he jumped onto the nearest building, running off into the direction of the Hyūga estate.

Tenten smiled at Naruto and sipped her water slowly, as if thinking of a way to rid Lee of his misery. When she did not hear Naruto's delight at finishing his bowl, she looked up and saw him staring directly at her.

She quickly figured out his question by looking at his eyes. Nodding her affirmation, Tenten bid her farewell and left Ichiraku.

* * *

Taking a right on the forked road, Lee made his way towards the Hyūga mansion. The flowers parted their way for his feet as he passed, their vines intertwining with others as if bowing in respect for his presence. The wind came from the north and swept through the trees; their leaves dancing to the rhythm of the tune that the wind whistled.

Trees surrounded the household as he walked down the path and he noticed the small pond on his left. Marble angels cried to the heavens on both sides, their cups draining out crystalline water. Ripples of water spread out in circles at the points of impact. As they collided with each other, parrallel inclines in the water level were created. Just as quickly, the lines disappeared and the process began again.

It represented life in a metaphorical way. A cycle that one may not find to be important, but may hold the key to all other aspects of the universe, from whatever lay beyond the great villages to even the smallest sliver of fire that burned within an avenger's heart.

Lee briefly wondered if, after death, one became like the water in all its abstract glory. Were they able to relish in the eternal peace, the calm indifference, or even the lack of barriers such as time and place?

Were the worries of the deceased gone with their heartbeat or were they simply transferred to someone of the living?

The path wound around the pond and the main household's gates were in clear view. Lee had forgotten that the main and the branch houses were located in different parts of the mansion. He had taken the wrong path along the line and now he was in front on Hinata's humble abode. His eyes glanced back and forth on the path, wondering where he might have taken a wrong turn. Sensing another's presence, Lee looked back to find a slightly shocked Hinata standing on the path.

He bowed to her respectfully and smiled when she blushed; a reaction of hers that she was unable to rid herself of. Noticing her beautiful kimono, Lee became curious.

"Ah, why so formally dressed today, Hinata-sama?"

Her blush deepened and the red that was forming at her cheeks quickly spread. She looked at the ground and started to mumble incoherent words...her response, he figured. He was about to interrupt her ramblings when she realized what she was doing and, snapping her head up, coughed lightly.

"Um, sorry Lee-san. This is an Iromuji kimono. It is not that formal since both married and um, unmarried,_"_Lee noticed her blush at this, _"_can wear it. I'm going to an um, tea ceremony in honour of Neji's inauguration as a Konokise ANBU captain._"_

At first Lee was stunned. His former teammate and friend was now a Konokise ANBU captain at the mere age of seventeen. It was something to be proud of and Lee felt the envy curl in the pit of his stomach.

Smiling to hide his feelings towards Neji's promotion, Lee walked down the path with Hinata.

"I've heard of this Konokise ANBU unit, but I did not know that they were searching for members so quickly. Aren't they an elite assassination squad?_"_ Lee asked, unbeknown to him that his fingers were now clenched at his sides.

Still with her eyes staring into the depths of the earth, Hinata responded, "Yes. Although ANBU is known for being the main assassination squad, they have become more of specialized as hunter nin, and, um, the need for elite assassins grew. During one of the council meetings, at Hokage-sama's discretion, the, um, Nara and the Hyūga clans agreed on forming and maintaining a new section of ANBU._"_

Lee nodded his understanding and Hinata continued. "The term Konokise was actually thought up from Hatake-san--_"_

"Kakashi-senpai?_"_ Lee wondered to himself.

"Yes. He wanted something in honour of his sensei, the Fourth Hokage-sama. So he, um, took the first letters from Fourth Hokage-sama's name and made the term._"_

Lee thought over her words for a minute, piecing each term together. _"_The Leaf's Yellow Flash was his name, right?_"_

"Um, yes,"she replied.

"So, that would make it...Konoha no Kīroi Senkō. Ko - no - Ki - Se. Wow, that makes sense."

Hinata giggled lightly at his findings and, before the two knew it, they were at the branch house's gates. Two servants who had been following them along the path appeared in front and both stood in a fighting position. Surprised, Lee watched as they performed jūken on the gates. He watched as palms, lit with surging chakra, hit creases in the gates. As though they were performing seals, the servants completed their task with perfect timing and unrivaled precision. With each knew hit, the gate rose, unsettling dust from the Earth's surface.

As he glanced back and forth, looking at the servant's ignited hands and piercing fingers, a wave of something hit him. He stumbled back slightly and Hinata squeaked, grabbing his arm in an effort to keep him standing. Only years of practicing with Neji gave her the reflexive skills she used to keep him standing, but he was thankful for her help then.

Hesitantly, she asked him what was wrong and her eyebrows creased when he shook it off, claiming it to be the oncomings of a cold.

It was anything but.

Memories came flooding back into his mind when he watched chakra shoot through the fingertips. Instantly, he was mauled by memories from earlier. He was attacked by his own clone, metaphorically speaking. They came back to him and he remembered his wrinkled hand, his perfect clone and the empty feeling that accompanied it.

It was like cancer. Not a cancer of the body, but a cancer of the soul; one's pride and honour. And it was quickly spreading.

As he followed Hinata into the branch house, he noticed that his steps were a little more calculated. He became more weary of his surroundings, even to the point of noticing every crevice and ball of dirt in the house (not that there were many flaws in the house itself.)

He knew of Neji's expertise in seeing pathways. If Hinata was unable to figure out that he had indeed expelled chakra--not through opening the gates--he knew that Neji would surely piece the puzzle together.

But that was not what he went to the Hyūga household for. He wanted to spar with Neji and let out his frustrations. Now that he knew Neji was of a higher level, his felt the surge of power course through his veins. He wanted to defeat someone so he could figure out his place in this world. Much like the present Kazekage, Lee suddenly was ripped of his position in the world and downgraded, although this transition was occurring now, not when he left his mother's womb.

Lee figured that if he beat Neji with taijutsu alone, everything would be alright. Certainly thinking that way was absurd, but the absurdities in life are usually the barriers that shield us from the truth.

As they continued to walk, Lee noticed Neji in the distance. He wanted to yell, but went against it since it clearly was disrespectful to one of the most powerful clans in Konoha. Instead, he waved, gaining Neji's attention.

Suddenly, Lee caught a glimpse of white in his peripheral and one arm shot up to protect his face. The defense position proved helpful when he felt the distinct impact of a foot on his forearm. With legs planted firmly on the ground, Lee was pushed back several feet by the blow. His feet rubbed against the earth and two trails were left as he gained his balance again.

Stretching one arm out in front of his body and the other behind his back, Lee's eyes narrowed as he gathered his senses. Hinata was already well out of the area--she had found a place to watch in a tree. Lee felt bad for not giving her a warning considering that her kimono seemed to be worth so much, if not already a family heirloom.

A large disruption in the trees to his right forced Lee to look in that direction, a hand already down by his kunai pouch. Soundlessly, Lee whipped a kunai out and flicked it in that general direction. He heard it clang against some sort of metal and he smirked, running towards the source of the clash of weapons. With a light bound, Lee manage to kick to his left. His foot met with a knee and, although Lee himself could not see the person, he could tell that Neji was caught.

Lee landed on the grass and immediately pushed his hand into the ground, propping himself up on his arm and swirling his feet around in an oscillating motion. He deflected two kunai with his feet and, with quick measurements, Lee figured out where the weapons were thrown from. Reaching into his pouch once more, Lee pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it out in front of him. The smoke billowed up into the sky and Hinata could here the clash of weapons from its epicenter.

When all his punches and kicks were matched with equal intensity-- if not more, Lee was forced to abandon the source of his advantage. Jumping out of the concealing area, Lee leaped onto a branch and formulated a new plan of action. He figured that Neji would activate his Byakugan at any moment, so he had to be ready for a surprise attack.

If he could catch Neji off-guard, he could gain the upper hand and knock the man unconscious. Sakura had taught him some of the major pressure points in the body and Lee figured that he'd create his own version of Byakugan. Putting his sore thumb to his teeth, Lee gently bit down. Blood oozed from the wound and Lee winced. He couldn't imagine himself doing the summoning technique on a daily basis. Taking that thought into account, Lee smeared his blood on a leaf of the tree. He ripped off the plant and placed the leaf in his mouth.

Reluctantly, he began to chew. The taste was slightly sour and he knew he was chewing the right plant. Almost done his concoction, Lee was surprised when a body appeared by his side. An arm jutted out and connected with his abdomen, sending him flying into the adjacent tree. He could feel a slight throbbing pain in his head from where it had impacted the tree but, other than that, he felt nothing. It was as if Neji had hit a point in his nervous system, effectively shutting down all nerves and his ability to feel pain.

A silence fell in the courtyard and all seemed peaceful. It was quite the contrary in terms of the rapidly beating heart of Rock Lee. Whatever Neji had done was affecting him to the point where nothing but fear was making his heart beat so rapidly. Although the heartbeats were drowning out his thought process, Lee attempted to formulate another plan of action.

If he had any chance of landing a blow on the man, Lee had to use Byakugan's weak-point. Byakugan enables its users to have a nearly perfect field of vision. A minor drawback was that there was a blind spot located near the back of the neck. Byakugan users were unable to see at that spot and Lee knew of this error in cell generation. Lee also knew that Neji had a seeing radius of over 800 meters, making this field of battle simply too small to step out of his reach.

With this in mind, Lee thought over what he was going to do. He bit his lip while thinking and nearly gagged when he felt the leaf in the back of his throat. Remembering his plan from before, Lee made a final adjustment and climbed up the dented tree. He placed his body carefully on the lowest arc of a branch, stooping low to stay out of normal sight.

If all went well, Neji would think that Lee was on the defensive. In all actuality, Lee knew exactly where the branch member was. If anyone knew Neji's overused techniques, it was Lee. A Byakugan user had an advantage when they were overhead, or higher up, so to speak. If Lee's assumptions were correct, Neji would be in the trees overhead, scouting out a route in which to fire a projectile.

He would use his weight as a counterbalance and launch himself up, throwing a bomb seal. With aim taught by Tenten and her expertise, Lee knew he would hit the projectile. Then the battle would be his.

Lee looked to his right and to his left, ensuring that Hinata was nowhere in the imediate area. Preparing himself to launch his attack, he pushed his body lower onto the branch. Almost instantaneously, an arm came down on the branch and said branch was cut cleanly at his feet, sending the man hurdling to the ground.

Surprised, Lee landed in a cat like position and rolled onto his back when he saw the chakra infused hand of his opponent racing for his face. He forced his hands into the dirt for power and momentum and pushed upwards, causing a grunt to escape his lips as his body was brought roughly to its side.

Neji's fist landed in the dirt to his left and, although he had excellent chakra control, he was unable to decimate the ground.

Lee took this as his chance and spit out the tangy liquid in his mouth. It landed on his hands. Lee stood up--ignoring the pain--and ran towards Neji with blinding speed. Neji, who was seemingly appalled by Lee's brash and forward attack, took his ready position. One arm lunged forward and smashed into Lee's palm. The green liquid exploded under pressure, sticking itself to the soles of Neji's fingers. Slightly surprised at first, Neji stepped back to survey his hands.

He found that he was unable to push chakra through them anymore.

"What is this?" He demanded.

Lee chose to ignore the man's question. With this new advantage, Lee lunged forward again and outstretched his foot, ready to land a blow to Neji's side.

Expecting such an attack, Neji let his knees buckle under his weight and he crouched low on the Earth. He shoved his injured palm into the dirt and mumbled some words before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Unable to control his momentum solely because he sent a kick flying at no one, Lee shifted his center of gravity and his foot clashed with the bark of a tree. He swore that he heard the cracking of bone, but he noticed that he was still unable to feel.

Inability to feel was never a good thing despite how many shinobi lusted over such a power. He simply could not continue if he was unable to feel pain; the consequences would be dire if he could not complete any missions for the next few weeks.

Sakura was another case. If she heard of his training sessions with the almighty Hyūga, she would surely give him a few more bruises of his own.

But he had to beat the Hyūga using taijutsu to prove to himself th--

He saw a flash of red and his eyes widened imperceptibly. Something had shot out from the trees to his side and it seemed to have stopped something--or someone--from hitting his face. Lee shook his head to clear his thoughts and saw the green digits of a calloused finger directly in front of him. Wrapped around the wrist was a long chain and attached to it was a cylinder weight.

One of Tenten's weapons.

Lee looked up to find a very displeased Hyūga looking at Tenten, who appeared silently. She smiled coyly at Neji and brought her arm back, causing the chain to reel back towards her. With reflexes that only a weapon's master such as Tenten had, she was able to retract the weapon with speed that rivaled the two men before her.

Neji's green fingers clenched into a fist and he brought his arm back, smirking when he saw the glint of surprise still etched into the pupils of his Lee. He greeted Tenten with a nod and turned back to Lee, offering his hand out.

Lee accepted it and once he got up he began with the normal greeting.

"Neji-sempai."

"Lee."

Tenten rolled her eyes at this and put her body between the two, staring into Neji's pearly orbs.

"Now, do you mind explaining to me why you would spar with him when you're in tea party attire?"

"Yes, I do mind. I'm very sorry Tenten, but I must be off to my clan's tea party._"_ His voice was laced with sarcasm and she scoffed. _"_But before I leave, Lee..."

He paused and shifted his feet slightly to match his gaze with Lee's. He saw Lee's throat muscles constrict and figured he was gulping because he had been found out.

How right Neji was.

Lee was staring there, a look of mortification spread across his features. Although he was not perfectly upright (on a limp because of his broken bones), Lee attempted to keep his chest high. It was nearly impossible though, not with the feeling that something horrible was going to happen crawling through his veins.

"It seems that two of your chakra veins have been open."

"I opened a gate,_"_Lee lied.

It seemed that Neji's and Tenten's brows furrowed at the same time, for they both held the same look, as if their eyes were saying _don't bullshit me._

"Don't bullshit me," Tenten snared.

Why was she so upset? It wasn't her that accomplished something that seemed to be wonderful despite being quite horrid in all actuality. It wasn't her that was stuck in a limbo of what to do, where to go, who to talk to. It wasn't her that was feeling intense pain...not the physical kind, but the kind that accompanied itself with animosity towards one's actions.

It wasn't Tenten with the problem.

It was him.

Lee passed a glance at Tenten and, with a quivering smile, looked back at Neji. He could almost feel the aura of mistrust emanating from Tenten, but Neji was a different story.

It almost felt as if Neji was envious.

"If you had opened a gate, the corresponding veins would be throbbing with life. But they are simply pulsing. You put a little bit of chakra through it, just enough to do a _jutsu_." He said that word with such hate and malice that a small child may have thought it was a word one was not suppose to use.

Lee bowed his head in shame and Neji continued. "Do not try to lie again, it's obvious. How do you think I made it to Konokise ANBU? You're not only one breaking records and doing the impossible."

"Shut up Neji,_"_Tenten hissed, talking a step forward and putting a hand on Lee's slumped shoulder. She pulled him and his weight was put on her side. She knew something was broken and it must have been hard to even stand up.

"Neji is just upset that you didn't tell us," she began, throwing Neji a warning glance before whispering, "he cares a little too much."

Despite the situation, Lee smiled at this. Tenten was good at giving him some of that womanly cheer that all Konoha kunoichi seemed to have ( except for Tsunade...but Lee would never openly admit this).

"Ryō for your thoughts now,_" _Tenten said happily, thrusting an arm out in front of him.

He looked at the shining coin in her palm and decided that it was the least he could do. Taking the coin from her hand, he stared into the the depths of the Konoha symbol.

He pledged loyalty to that symbol, fought for that symbol, loved that symbol.

He would continue to love that symbol.

He would not let anything get in his way of protecting that symbol.

That meant that he would have to let his accomplishment go. He'd have to live with it and not think of it as a mistake or a wonder. It was simply an occurrence; nothing more or nothing less. It was nothing of high value: it didn't not make him anymore of a person. It was nothing of low value: he would not consider himself trash.

It was...

It was simply...

It was simply the power of youth.

"Tenten-chan, Negi-sempai, do you see what I see?"

Neji coughed his annoyance and Tenten smiled. They both knew what was coming.

"What do you see?" Tenten asked.

"I see--"

"Neji-nii-san, um, sorry to interrupt the, um, moment, but everyone is waiting for you." Hinata had appeared from the bushes and it seemed as though she had caught the brist of the conversation. Lee and Tenten both sent her a smile and Neji nodded grimly, staring at his stained hands.

"You _will_ tell me what you did to me,_"_Neji calmly said, nodding to both his teammates before leaving with a blushing Hinata.

Lee and Tenten were left alone on the Hyūga estate. Forgetting what he was stating before, Lee looked over his shoulder to the path that he and Hinata had walked on previous to his encounter and spar with Neji.

"I'm hungry,_" _Lee confessed, feeling foolish for not eating earlier.

"If those were your thoughts, I'll take this ba--" Tenten's fingers brushed against the gold coin before his fingers clutched it protectively.

"And broke," he admitted.

"It's on me this time, buddy."

With a small grunt, Tenten pushed upwards and grabbed hold of Lee, pouting when she realized that he was barely able to move.

"He hurt you badly, didn't he?"

She knew he wouldn't respond so she settled for helping him walk through the courtyard and onto civilian grounds. They walked in silence to Ichiraku where, to Lee's misfortune, Sakura sat with Sai.

Tenten and Lee ignored the two for for awhile as Sakura rambled on about something to do with an advancement in chakra infused lotions while Sai half-listened. Lee was tempted to laugh when he heard Sai's 'hn's and 'uh huh's. Sakura continued to be oblivious, her food untouched because she felt that she needed to tell Sai every minor detail.

Ordering his food, Lee looked over at Tenten. She seemed to be in deep thought. Her elbow placed on the counter, her hands holding her chin in place, her eyes staring intensely at the stove-top in which a boiling pot of water lay. Her other arm was unmoving at her side, a sign of tenseness if not readiness for an attack from around the corner.

He found her positioning strange and thought, only for a second, that she had sensed someone dangerous nearby. He dismissed this when he saw her shoulders relax. It seemed that she was daydreaming and it ended, leaving her wondering where she was and what she was doing. That dazed expression lasted for a moment though, and she was bought back to reality.

"Ryō for your thoughts, Tenten!"

Sai, Lee, and Tenten were surprised when they heard the high pitched voice of Sakura. The two men sent her looks: one of annoying from Sai for yelling from so close, and one of surprise from Lee for the feeling of false deja vu.

Sakura ignored the two and whipped the coin at Tenten's face. She caught the coin easily, smiling at the pink haired woman.

"I was just wondering how Lee would be able to train now that he has a broken leg._"_

"Really? That would be near to impos--wait, what?!" Sakura exploded.

Tenten smiled mischievously.

Lee gulped audibly.

Sai gave a fake smile at this so-called friendship.

Sakura saw red.

...And madness ensued.

* * *

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